Silent Suffering
by 009.Domino
Summary: Her name is Ceres. Her father tried to kill her by having her hung...but she survived. Three months after having been hung, her body is discovered by a most vile ninja, Orochimaru. How will things turn out for her from now on...Rated T for later chapters
1. Silent Suffering

**This will be my first Naruto fanfic, actually it's my first fanfic ever. I'm not really sure how the story will develop from here on, but I'll try my best to make it interesting. Since this is my first time publishing a story, I'd really appreciate your guys' feedback. I'm pretty optimistic, so even if you tell me it sucked, I'm sure i could handle it! XD**

**At first when I came up with the idea to this story it started out as a romance...Wait before you even think about it- no, not with Orochimaru! Not that I have anything against him either, but still that was simply out of the question for me. The only problem was I had such a hard time deciding who to pair my OC with, so the story took a drastic change into the tragedy, and I sure do hope it was for the better.**

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**SILENT SUFFERING**

I can't be more than half awake right now. I am exhausted, as though I've been worn out for ages. A gentle breeze sweeps across the fields. It is a very crisp and cold wind. I lift my head and stare in awe. Not a single grass of green could be seen, for the fields were covered. They were covered in snow. It is tempting. I myself would like to go and make snow angels in that snow or perhaps have a snowball fight. I try to move but find myself unable to. How childish of me to think of such things as snow angles and snowball fights. Instead I stay where I am and watch the snowflakes fall. They seem to float in midair, as though time had stopped and they didn't give a care in the world. So silent, I cannot hear them. In fact I hear nothing at all. The whole hillside is quiet. Is it because Mother Nature too, is amazed by this scene's tranquil beauty? It has an air of mystery, this feeling I get from watching the flakes fall, but cold it is still.

I feel my body going numb as another gust of wind sweeps by. What a painful feeling this is, but I cannot escape it. I'm surrounded by a blistering cold and never ending sea of red as far as my eyes can see. Almost as if th-…sea of red? Red? That's impossible. There is no reason for the snow to be red. Yet, there before my very own eyes was a puddle of deep red. I gasp. Blood? Why would there be blood here? Thoughts rush through my mind, I struggle to lift my hand, and hold my head in pain. I flinch as I touch my forehead. I am bleeding. Bleeding…do I have a head injury?

After a moment of thought I came to my senses. How could I have possibly forgotten? The impact of retrieving my memories gave me quite a shock. My eye lids begin to feel heavy. How could I have forgotten for even a minute? How long have I been here, unable to move? It was only the beginning of fall, the first day of the incident that is, but now it is surely winter. I feel the rest of my energy draining. I shut my eyes. Is that footsteps I hear? They surely must be. Will I be saved? Yes, most definitely, I will be rescued and then I can start a new life…That word, life, it feels so empty. That word can't possibly mean anything to me now; after all, you could say that I died a long, long time ago. The footsteps stop. They are going in another direction, fading. I try to call out to those steps. I only struggle to find myself coughing up blood. Please come back, I think to myself.

What have I done wrong, how long must I suffer…?

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Footsteps are to be heard in the distance. The snow crunches softly as two shinobi make their way across an endless field of snow. The younger of the shinobi speaks, "So tell me, why are we here again?" His question received no reply. The other shinobi kept walking; he simply ignored the boy that walked beside him. He seemed determined about something, or perhaps he was just being rude. The younger shinobi adjusted his glasses and asked once more. The boy couldn't be any older than twelve, thirteen at the most. It could be seen on his childlike expression as he walked, his grey hair swaying in the wind. His companion stopped and looked at him. This shinobi was not young at all, and there was certainly nothing childlike about him. His long black hair wavered behind him as he stared at the boy with his snake like eyes. After glaring at him for awhile, he turned and started walking the opposite direction.

"Lord Orochimaru, where are we going?" the boy quickly caught up with him. The shinobi named Orochimaru sneered, "If you continue being such a nuisance, Kabuto, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Kabuto stopped walking, his face turned pale as he looked ahead. Orochimaru looked at him, "What's wrong, my threats have never affected you before." Kabuto raised his arm and pointed ahead of him, his gaze was empty. Orochimaru looked around to see what had caught his attention.

He smirked at the sight, "Death is something you'll need to get use to…if you plan on continuing to assist me, that is." He looked at the corpse. It was the corpse of a girl, and she was hanging from the branches of a tree. Her body swayed, lifeless, as another gust of wind swept across the area. Kabuto came to his senses and cleared his throat. He acted as if it didn't bother him at all, he than looked at Orochimaru and smirked as well.

"You're wrong," he said "that girl, she is still very much alive." Orochimaru had an expression of surprise on his face, but only for a second.

"Do you mean to tell me, that that very much lifeless corpse ahead of us could still be of use…?" he asked unable to believe what he had just said. Kabuto nodded.

"In that case, let's go have a look." Orochimaru made his way over to the tree; Kabuto followed behind. As they made their way to the tree, Kabuto noticed the puddle of blood that had formed under the girl. He traced the blood back to the wound on her head.

"It seems that she was hit multiple times before being hanged." He said examining her other cuts and bruises. "It's pretty sad, she doesn't seem any older than the age of four or five." He looked over at Orochimaru, who was also in thought.

"Cut off the ropes." he said, "We'll take her back to the base." Orochimaru started walking once again. Kabuto quickly cut off the ropes around the girl's neck, with one of his kunai knives, and followed behind Orochimaru, carrying her along with them.

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	2. A New Start

**I'm sure than many of you noticed that the first two chapters are relatively short. Not to worry though, from now on the chapters will be longer. I just used these first two chapters as an introduction so length was the least of my worries. **

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**A NEW START**

I open my eyes, my vision is blurred. I see a faint light. The atmosphere is calm; I no longer feel the chill I felt earlier. Where am I? Was I saved as I had hoped, or have I finally died? My eyes are adjusting to my new surroundings; I look at myself. My arms and legs have been bandaged up. I was rescued after all…

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"What do you plan on doing with her?" Kabuto asked Orochimaru as they both made their way down the dimly lit halls of the hideout. Orochimaru simply smiled as they approached their destination. Kabuto reached for the door handle. He opened the door slightly before hesitating and then closed it once again.

"What are you doing, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked; his tone was deadly.

"I just thought that it would be rude to simply intrude in on her but if you'd like…" Kabuto stated sarcastically; a smile on his face. Orochimaru sneered.

"Whatever, just hurry up!" he snapped. He was already beginning to lose his patience. Kabuto knocked on the door. After waiting about a minute he knocked again; there was still no answer. He attempted to knock a third time, but Orochimaru stopped him.

"Forget about it, she's probably still unconscious." he said, his hand reaching for the door handle. Just as his hand made contact with the handle, the door slowly opened. There, grasping on tightly to the door as if to keep balance stood the girl they had just rescued the other day.

In a faint whisper she said, "I'm sorry it took so long. I'm still not use to walking yet." Not once did her eyes travel off the ground as she spoke. She walked back to where she had been laying and took a seat. Orochimaru and Kabuto followed behind.

"Well then," Kabuto began as he took a seat next to the girl, "Let's start with your name." The girl stared at him with her lifeless eyes. She then opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

She began once again, "My name is Ceres." she gave a fake smile as she spoke. Kabuto then introduce himself and Orochimaru before adjusting his glasses and asking her more questions, continuing the interrogation. After a lapse of ten minutes, the room door opened once again, as Orochimaru made his way out into the hall. Kabuto turned off the lights and shut the door. He then followed behind Orochimaru.

"So far we know that her name is Ceres, she's four years old, she's from Hikarigakure, and that her parents, who are of Kaikan descent, tried to assassinate her and hung her from that tree about three months ago…am I correct, Kabuto?" Orochimaru spoke as they walked down the halls. Kabuto nodded in agreement.

"You're right," he said "but I still don't see why we rescued her." Kabuto thought to himself, searching for the undiscovered answer. He was so lost in thought that he did not notice Orochimaru stop, and so he bumped into him, falling back onto the floor. Kabuto looked up as Orochimaru looked back at him.

"The reason we saved the girl," he started "is because I believe she will be very useful in our plan to bring down the Hidden Leaf Village." He continued walking until he and Kabuto reached the end of the hall. There was but a single door.

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto again, "I shall rest for now. I don't particularly care what you do, but make sure you and the girl meet me at the entrance of the hideout tomorrow morning." Orochimaru opened the door and closed it immediately behind him before Kabuto could even respond. Kabuto nodded to himself and walked off in the direction he had just come from. After informing Ceres on next morning's meeting, he retired to his room.

It was morning. One might not have been able to tell, due to the fact that there were no windows in the hideout, but sure enough, Kabuto was knocking on the door to Ceres's room.

He knocked once more and instructed Ceres on her following procedures, "You have an hour until we meet outside of the hideout. The kitchen is three doors to the left of your room; you will also find a bag there. Its contents are nothing more than some new clothes and your common toiletries. Use them as you please, and don't be late."

With that he left to meet up with Orochimaru and further discuss the plans of their upcoming mission. Ceres sat up in her new bed. It was quite comfortable; then again, anything would be more comfortable than her past accommodations. Her eyes traveled around the room; she hadn't taken the time to examine her surroundings earlier. Her glance stopped upon the sight of a mirror. She was intrigued by what she saw. She slowly turned over and pulled herself off the bed. She leaned against the wall to keep balance; she was still too weak to properly walk on her own. She made her way towards the mirror and gazed at her reflection. She was surprised. Her hair was not its usual color but instead a deep black. It had grown much longer too. Her eyes were also different. They were no longer their cheerful emerald green but a dreary crimson red. She raised her hand and touched her reflecting image on the mirror. She could not fully comprehend what she was seeing. 'It must be a family bloodline trait.' She thought.

After a few moments of staring blankly into the mirror, she stepped back and made her way towards the door. The kitchen wasn't very big. It was made to provide for three, four at most. Ceres walked over to the table and picked up the bag Kabuto had mentioned. She started to make her way back to her room. Before exiting the kitchen she looked back at an apple that had been lying on the table. She sighed. 'What's the point' she thought; she was in no mood to eat. On her way back to the room, she stumbled multiple times.

After her fourth fall, she could hardly find the strength to get up again. At the idea of giving up, a thought ran through her mind, 'You're weak. The Kaikan family has no need for the likes of you!' She grasped her shoulders tightly as the words of her father rung in her ears. She picked herself up and greatly struggled the last bit of the way. She changed as quickly as possible and hurried to the hideout's entrance to the best of her ability. The bag she had obtained, which held her new clothes and such, also contained a map of the hideout.

The Sun was out, and birds could be heard chirping. Ceres shielded her eyes from the sudden intensity of the Sun's light. She looked about. They were surrounded by trees and many of them. She could also hear the rushing waters of a waterfall nearby. She took a deep breathe. It had been a long while since she'd felt this relaxed. She soon caught sight of Orochimaru and Kabuto. She headed their way. They were conversing about the same upcoming mission. Orochimaru turned and looked Ceres's way as she came into view. She stopped about a foot away from them.

"You asked to see me, Orochimaru?" she said examining Orochimaru carefully. She did not feel at ease in his presence, in fact he scared her to some extent.

Orochimaru smiled, "Yes. I would like to start your training." He said it casually, as if nothing more or less was to have been expected from him.

Ceres looked shocked, "Training? But you can't seriously mean –," she was cut off as Kabuto put his hand in front of her mouth. He nodded as he removed his hand; he reassured her that Orochimaru was in fact, serious.

"Now then, I believe we shall begin your training with an A ranked survival mission," he said as he handed her a scroll. "You'll need this."

Ceres looked at Orochimaru, her face as plain as ever, but Kabuto gasped, "What? An A ranked mission!?"


End file.
